Case study: Improving benefits perception with 75% employee engagement – Derbyshire Constabulary

Case study: Improving benefits perception

If you’re interested in improving benefits perception in your workplace, the latest case study from Derbyshire Constabulary may have some key learnings for you.

What is Derbyshire Constabulary? 

Derbyshire Constabulary focuses on protecting people and enforcing the law across the diverse county of Derbyshire. The Constabulary has 3,400 employees across four main locations, with an online to offline ratio of 70:30.

The employee engagement and employee benefits issues

In 2013, Derbyshire Constabulary conducted their first ever employee engagement survey. The ‘Viewpoint’ survey found that only 53% of employees felt they were being paid fairly for their work, and only 68% felt that they were being offered a good range of benefits. The survey also revealed that 50% of employees had considered moving to a different company to earn more. On top of this, motivation was low, with a third of employees feeling no more motivated than they had a year before. Furthermore, employees wanted more information around health and wellbeing.

The ‘Viewpoint’ survey found that only 53% of employees felt they were being paid fairly for their work, and only 68% felt that they were being offered a good range of benefits.

As with many government funded organisations, the problems were further exacerbated due to the nature of the environment including strict budgets and some workforce reductions. However, the HR team at Derbyshire Constabulary were keen to offer their employees a wide range of benefits, increase engagement and recognise individuals for their hard work, despite facing these difficulties.

The solution – employee benefits, hubs and mental health help 

Derbyshire Constabulary partnered with Reward Gateway to launch an offering that integrated employee discounts into an employee engagement hub. The HR team used this new hub to make the salaries of their employees go further, in a time where meaningful pay rises were unfortunately not available. They launched the hub with a “You said, we did” campaign, to show that employee voices were being heard and listened to. Benefits included a new Cycle to Work scheme to support staff with their financial and physical health, and Childcare Vouchers for working parents, saving families up to £933 a year – much appreciated in a workforce where the average age is 42.

During Mental Health Awareness Week 2017, the HR team launched the health and wellbeing section of the hub. The section was prominent on the front page of the hub, and the launch included numerous activities revolving around mental, physical, emotional and financial health. The team also launched competitions, free health screenings, presentations, health and wellbeing offers, and a £500 charity drive that captured local media attention.

The results: Saving employees six figure sums

Since the launch of the new employee hub, the team have seen 75% of employees engage with the numerous offerings, and 72% of Derbyshire Constabulary employees feel like they are being offered a good range of benefits. Furthermore the 2017 survey shows that 92% of staff are proud to work for Derbyshire Constabulary and 88% of staff agree that Derbyshire Constabulary is a good place to work.

To date, employees have spent £1,120,000 through Reward Gateway’s employee discounts, with savings of £110,000. The discounts offered on the hub continually evolve and match the shopping habits of employees, meaning that savings increase every year (this year there was a 36% increase in savings), and will likely continue to increase further in the future.

To date, employees have spent £1,120,000 through Reward Gateway’s employee discounts, with savings of £110,000. The discounts offered on the hub continually evolve and match the shopping habits of employees, meaning that savings increase every year (this year there was a 36% increase in savings), and will likely continue to increase further in the future.

In addition to employee discounts, other benefit offerings have also seen high levels of take up. In the first window of the Cycle to Work scheme, there were over 250 applications. Childcare Vouchers have proved extremely popular, with employees saving £120,000 through the benefit. The improved health and wellbeing offering has also proved extremely effective, with employees speaking about mental health issues, sharing their personal stories and providing signposting and advice.

The return on investment has been incredibly powerful, well over five times, showing the significance and value of the scheme, for both the Constabulary and the employees. This reiterates how good value for money the scheme is for Derbyshire Constabulary – a necessity in the current environment of cuts and reductions.